During the FIFA Congress in Paris and the FIFA Women’s Football Convention, the Football Technology Innovation Department had a full set up VAR station on display for its stakeholders to learn about this technology and, for the brave ones, try themselves as a Video Assistant Referee.

During the 69th FIFA Congress that took place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles on 5 June 2019 and which saw the re-election of the FIFA President, the Football Technology Innovation Department took the opportunity to offer a fully functional simulator of a Video Assistant Referee setup to the participants from FIFA’s 211 member associations. The same setup was also showcased to the participants of the first Global Women’s Football Convention the following two days allowing a large number of members of the football family to get acquainted with this new technology. The VAR setup presented to the members was identical to the system as it is being used during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019. Participants ranged from officials very familiar with the video assistant technology to a number of representatives that had not yet had the chance to experience the system first-hand. For a number of member associations and leagues that are in the process of introducing VAR to their domestic leagues, it furthermore offered an opportunity to exchange ideas and get further insights into their own project as part of their path with the Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme (IAAP). This programme was approved during the IFAB’s 132nd Annual General Meeting on 3 March 2018 and outlines the mandatory five-step process that any competition organizer must go through in order to be compliant with the Laws of the Game. To find out more on this project, see the complete list of technology requirements.